


palace: Alternate Endings

by K9_DFTBA



Series: palace [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Defenders (Marvel TV), X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Happy Ending, Kissing, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Multi, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Warning: Loki (Marvel), a happy ending in every chapter!, and it's healing, as always, everyone gets a kiss but Loki just really goes for it, he has his own warning and I love it, not stand alone, why does only quill get to propose? I don't know. he just did it.
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-06-01 16:13:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15146915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/K9_DFTBA/pseuds/K9_DFTBA
Summary: in palace, lots of boys wooed Tony Stark... but who won his heart? YOU decided!





	1. Tony/Stephen/Loki

**Author's Note:**

> All endings except Tony/Loki/Stephen begin right as or right after Charles leaves Tony alone to have Serious Talks™️ with his true loves, in ch. 6 of palace.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki pressed a slow kiss onto his cheek. His eyes flitted closed, a picture of peace.  
> “I think it is I who have truly won.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know my lil break was longer than I said it would be, but I majorly underestimated the time I would need to recover from back-to-school. Sorry!  
> Anyway, I thought this would be a fun ship to start with, since so many of y'all wanted Tony to get ALL THE GUYS, and it's both the most similar and the most different from the original endings.  
> This one jumps around a little bit time wise-- let me know if it isn't clear when stuff happens in the context of the main story.  
> Hope you enjoy!

Loki cornered Tony, right before he went on stage to give his speech. Tony was trying, very, very hard not to panic. Hey, he’s just about to spill his soul to the public. No big, right?

“Be calm, Anthony,” Loki said, without preamble, startling Tony.

Loki traced a path down his spine with his fingertips, lightly brushing from his neck down. It was grounding and distracting all at the same time.

“I may be a god, but you are a king among men, by your own making. You will do fine,” he said, reaching for his hands.

Loki took one of Tony’s hands in his, twisting his Avengers cufflink around to face the proper direction.

“I told you, once, that people would do well to fear you. And that is true. But they would do better to love you. You will lead them to a brighter future,” he said, a secretive smile appearing on his face, “I should know,” he whispered. 

Loki leaned in a pressed a kiss to his cheek, more chaste and kind than Tony had ever thought him capable.

“Lo...” Tony began, a question in his voice.

“Tony, you’re on in 15 seconds,” Hope’s voice called, the sound of her heels clacking punctuating her words.

Tony looked up at Loki, unwilling to move. Loki only rolled his eyes, and pushed him towards the stage.

“Go on, astound me.”

* * *

Tony left the Accords negotiations room at the end of the day equal measures high on success and exhausted from the struggle of achieving it. This turned out to be a explosive combination when, upon exiting, he found himself immediately in Loki’s waiting arms. He was pulled into a side room, an office of some sort. Tony didn’t know exactly what Loki had intended by the action, but Tony certainly knew what he wanted it to mean. So, he took his chance. Adrenalin still coursed through his veins from a day full of arguing, and fighting, and tricking, and it only increased as he surged towards Loki, claiming the kiss that he had wanted that morning, before he had even given his speech.

Yet, it was vulnerable, too. As Loki began to respond, matching his intensity, Tony found his touches more precise, more conscious in their effort. It was not slow— it was still undeniably desperate— but each touch still meant more. Before Tony knew it, Loki had taken control. Tony found himself sitting on a desk, crowded by Loki, his shirt hiked up.  
His senses were overcome by Loki, Loki, Loki, but not enough that he missed the door opening, or the small gasp that followed seconds later. Loki didn’t seem to be inclined to stop, but Tony jerked away, looking at the figure in the doorway in horror.

“Stephen...” Tony said, taking in the reality of who had found them, “I’m... I’m sorry, I...”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Stephen replied, quickly, sharply.

And, maybe that was true. They weren’t together. But, then, why did Tony feel so goddamned guilty?

“I’m not sure I understand,” Loki said, interrupting Tony’s train of thought.

Tony looked at him, blankly.

“I was under the impression that sharing a pet was a significant commitment in Midgard?” He asked, rather out of the blue, but as if that explained everything.

“It is,” Tony replied, quietly.

Loki looked more confused.

“I... I was under the impression that you two were partners,” he clarified, sounding unsure.

“Then why would you...” Stephen said, gesturing rather than finishing his sentence.

Loki’s brows furrowed.

“If you are upset because I did not ask you first, I do so humbly apolog—“ he began, and then cut off.

Sudden clarity came to his eyes.

“I believe there has been a misunderstanding. A difference in Midguardian and Asgardian traditions,” he explained, placating, 

“I meant to court you and your partner... I simply, as you say, got here first,” he said, a little sheepishly, but still as if this should have been expected.

Tony’s eyes grew wide.

Stephen Strange had always been a possessive and protective man. But it was not jealousy that set his heart pounding when he saw them together, that set free something innocent and new inside his stomach.

“If I have offended you, I apologize,” Loki said, voice heavy with dread, not from fear of Stephen taking revenge, but from sadness.

He took a step back from Tony, his eyes never leaving his disheveled form, still sat on the desk.

“I’ll take my leave,” he finished, at last tearing his gaze away and bolting for the door.

But, in a flash, Stephen’s hand reached out, catching Loki’s wrist, stopping him.

“Wait.”

* * *

Later, when they finally joined the others in the courtyard, the game halted to greet them.

Jessica’s eyes immediately caught on the reddened bruise on Tony’s neck, not quite obscured by his collar.

“So,” Jessica said, “who won?”

Tony raised an eyebrow in question.

Peter turned towards them now, waiting intently for an answer.

“What, you think we didn’t bet on your love life too?” Jessica asked.

Tony snorted, but then blushed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well, uh...”

“I am courting both Tony and his partner,” Loki spoke up, helpfully, pride filling his voice in a softer way than it usually did.

Peter blinked owlishly at him, as if not quite processing the new information.

Loki rolled his eyes, latching onto Tony and pulling him away toward where Stephen was sat in the grass, watching on in amusement.

“I guess we both win, then?” Peter asked Gamora, who had bet on Loki.

Loki made a noise a disagreement, sitting on the grass next to Stephen, and pressing a slow kiss onto his cheek. Stephen’s eyes flitted closed, a smile on his lips, the picture of peace.

“I think it is I who have truly won.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loki: *says something nice for the first time in his life*  
> Tony: “wtffffff kiss me”  
> Stephen: “wtffffff ur supposed to kiss me”  
> Loki: *holding sword like crusader” “I... will kiss BOTH OF YOU!”


	2. Tony/Peter Quill

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Brandy, you’re a fine girl, what a good wife you would be, but my life, my love, my lady is the sea."  
> And, to Tony, that sounded about right, about what he expected. He knew what that was like, to have a relationship end because you couldn’t end your journey just yet-- because you couldn’t quite give up the rush.  
> “But that’s not us,” Peter said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is my favorite. I'm such a freaking sucker for cheesy starquill. And old music.  
> Enjoy <3

“Tony,” Charles, said, suddenly, “I think you are needed elsewhere… Why don’t you make your way back to the house?” he asked, leaving before he had an answer.

With only a roll of his eyes at the professor’s mysterious actions, Tony got up, wandering towards the house. He didn’t make it all the way, though, as he found what he was meant to be looking for before he reached the house.

“Hey, starshine,” Peter called to him from the entrance to the garden.

He was cast in pink light, the sun somehow reflecting off the flowers to make him appear softer, welcoming. He had one earbud in, the other dangling freely.

“Peter,” Tony said, with a soft smile, tentatively walking over to him.

Peter reached a hand up to Tony’s face, and Tony expected… well, he didn’t know what he expected. But Peter tapping his ear piece twice wasn’t it.

In response to Peter’s tapping, music, likely the same that Peter was listening to, came spilling through the ear piece.

“How…” Tony inquired, twisting the device around in his ear.

“I got FRIDAY’s help. Hope you don’t mind.”

They were standing close. Too close for Tony to really think properly.

“No, it’s fine, I…” he trailed off, unsure of what exactly he was going to say-- something embarrassing about being happy Peter got along with his kids, probably.

Peter only smiled, and took his hand, leading him farther into the gardens. He stopped in a small clearing just off of the path, and pulled Tony close.

“Dance with me?” Peter asked.

“As if I would ever say no,” Tony said, and it should have been a joke, but it wasn’t; he would never say no to a dance with Peter.

“Are you okay? I was worried about… well, I’m always worried about you,” he said, cheeks going pink, “but spilling your guts like that is rough.”

Tony shrugged.

“I’m trying something new. Trying to be better… I just, I don’t want to rely on them anymore.”

“But you don’t rely on them. You just got screwed over. Those Avengers, they’re gone. They destroyed that. You're better now, better than you could ever be with them, starshine.”

Tony was silent for a moment, leaning in to rest his head on Peter’s chest, head tucked under Peter’s chin.

“Run away with me,” Tony whispered, eyes closed to the world.

Tony felt rather than saw Peter’s headshake.

“You don’t need saving,” Peter said.

“I know. Do it anyway. After we kill the titan. Run away with me.”

Peter leaned down, pressing a kiss into his hair.

“My bio-dad tried to convince me that my life was like that song, that, ‘my life, my love, my lady, is the sea…’ and he was a little sorta right, I’ll man up, I’ll own up to that,” Peter said, tucking Tony under his chin as he spoke, “but it isn’t an either-or situation, not with you.”

“I... don’t understand,” Tony said, cautious.

Peter, without pulling back, tapped Tony’s earpiece again, and the song in question began playing in his ear.

“Brandy, you’re a fine girl, what a good wife you would be, but my life, my love, my lady is the sea,” Peter sang along, voice softer, smokier than normal.

And, to Tony, that sounded about right, about what he expected. He knew what that was like, to have a relationship end because you couldn’t end your journey just yet-- because you couldn’t quite give up the rush.

“But that’s not us,” Peter said, to Tony’s surprise.

“It isn’t?”

Peter shook his head where it rested on Tony’s, ruffling his hair as he did so.

“Our version would be more like: Tony…” he began, clearly still thinking through what he was going to say, “you’re a hero, you’re my hero…” he said, reverently, “I’ll call you my husband one day, if you’d let me… _and_ the stars are my life-- a life I’d love to share with you.”

At this, Tony started, pulling back. He halted their dance, looking into Peter’s eyes for any hit of a joke.

“Did you just… propose?” Tony asked, voice guarded.

Peter’s eyes grew wide, as if just now processing his own words. It was like the statement had been so obvious and truthfully, so innate to his mind that he hadn’t even thought twice before he said it.

“No, no, I ain’t…. Uhhh…” Peter stuttered.

His eyes drug across Tony’s face, taking him in, and something in Peter was freed.

“You know what, fuck it. Yes,” Peter said.

There was barely a moment of hesitation as he thought though his next move-- he suddenly knew exactly what he needed to do, as if he had been planning this all along, as if this was exactly what was meant to happen.

Peter reached up and pulled one of his necklaces off, something from his raveger days. It was a symbol of the eternal bond the ravegers shared, their chosen family. Peter didn’t put it on Tony himself, instead holding it out for him to accept or reject.  

“Marry me, Anthony Edward Stark. Not yet, not now. But promise me that one day, you’ll roam the stars with me, marry me, and run away with me,” he nearly begged, all in one breath.

Tony’s hand closed around Peter’s, the one holding the necklace. Tony pulled him in, pressing a deep, leisurely kiss to Peter’s lips, as if time was of no concern. But, in the end, it wasn’t-- they had the rest of their lives.

* * *

A round, knot-like insignia hung from a leather cord around Tony’s neck, glinting in the sun’s fading light as he and Peter returned to the courtyard.  It was Peter, the younger, that spotted them first.

“Wade…” he called to the merc, “I think we owe you some money.”

The teen’s gaze was shifting from Tony, to his necklace, to their intertwined hands. He was obviously cautious, worried for his mentor. Wade, reading the situation in a surprising show of empathy, stepped in.

“So, shovel talk? I think Petey is a little worried about… your ability to commit?” Wade said, playing mediator between the two Peters.

Peter, the elder, was unconcerned, too elated to grasp the importance of the spider’s opinion.

“We’re engaged,” Peter declared.

“-ish” Tony added, though no less happily.

“Pre-engaged,” Peter offered.

Wade screeched in delight, almost breaking several eardrums.

“I’m two for two! Pay up, fuckers!”

“If we’re only pre-engaged, can I still call you my fiance? Cause I want to. It sounds fancy,” Peter said, a charming, uncontrollable grin taking over his face.

Tony rolled his eyes, leaning in to press kisses all over his face.

“I love you, you dumbass.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The necklace exists it’s part of Peter’s costume... I don’t feel like linking it rn but maybe later... I totally made up the raveger stuff I’m just super interested in it from GOTG2


	3. Tony/Thor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'VE NEVER WRITTEN THIS SHIP BEFORE DONT @ ME  
> In all seriousness, a very passionate individual messaged me asking for some Tony/Thor, and it was a really fun challenge. Sorry if it's a lil too 2012 Thor-- I read a lot of old Avengers fic so it's kinda hard to knock the habit.  
> Hope you like it!

“Okay…” Tony said, confused, to Charles’ retreating back.

His confusion was quickly resolved, however, when Thor came to sit next to him. Charles probably thought they had needed some privacy, for whatever reason.

Thor was silent when he sat down. He threaded his fingers through the grass, as if he might what to rip it out to quell his inner turmoil, but didn’t quite have the heart.

“Anthony,” he began, “did you truly mean it? When you said you wished you had never come to know me?”

Tony was silent for a moment.

“I don’t know, Thor… You- you weren’t here, for the Accords, and Siberia. It was hell. And I know you went through that, too. But I had no one, Thor, no support. They tore my life apart piece by piece, and then Steve slammed a shield into my chest.”

Tony’s breathing became tight, labored. He grabbed Thor’s hand, bringing it to his chest, placing his fingers along the injury that had been inflicted on him.

“I can’t feel your hand, at all. I’ll never be able to feel there again. My lung capacity has decreased further than when I had a literal battery in my chest. That’s what happened to me, while you were gone. But everything else happened while you were still here. You tried to _strangle me_ , Thor.”

Thor looked away, a stray tear falling from his eye. He paid it no mind, instead using the hand Tony had pressed to his chest to cradle Tony's.

“I cannot deny it, but I am sorry. I have been many people since my failed coronation, many you would not even recognize, who even I don't recognize, but what pains me most is that I was once someone who willingly hurt you. I am sorry.”

Tony swallowed roughly. He brought their joined hands to his forehead and rested them there, his eyes closed and face downcast, as if praying.

“Okay…” Tony said, more breath than word, “Okay.”

Thor unwound their hands, and tilted Tony’s chin up. He smoothed a large thumb over his cheek, searching his face for permission or rejection.

Instead of giving either, Tony rose tentatively to meet him, joining their lips together. It was slow, and soft. Thor wove a hand through his hair, deepening the kiss for just a moment before pulling away. His eyes burned with devotion.

“I would live my worst days a million times over just for the promise of meeting you again, Anthony Stark. I may change, but that never will."

* * *

Jessica cleared her throat, expectant. She was holding a crystal glass, which definitely did not belong to her, swirling the amber liquid inside it around impatiently. 

"Yes?" Matt asked, carefully, seeming worried about what her answer might be. 

Jessica rolled her eyes, gesturing to the door where Tony and Thor had just entered, at last. The rest had come in hours before, but Tony and Thor were no where to be found. Matt listened to her hand move through the air, his ear turning to follow its path, until he picked up on the pair's heartbeats, the cadence of their steps.

"Oh."

A shark-like grin grew on Jessica's face, an unnatural expression for her. Wordlessly, Matt pulled out his wallet, passing over a few bills.

"And?" Jessica said.

Matt heaved a sigh. 

"You were right. I was wrong," he admitted, and then adding, after a moment, "but how did you know?"

Jessica stood.

"Matt," she said, seriously, "If you could see his muscles you would have known, too."

And, with that, she drained her glass, slammed it down on the table, and left the room. And, with that, Matt was alone, down twenty bucks, and laughing helplessly.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What other ships do you want to see?  
> (The runners up are still being written!)  
> What non-palace stories do you need in your life?  
> Talk to me in the comments! 
> 
> (p.s. maybe the weirdest thing ive ever done for a fic was writing out the fake bets everyone placed on Tony's love life and working out why each person bet on who they did. it was probably pointless but guess what. I did it anyway.)


End file.
